APPLICATION OF SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN INDIA: A COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW
1
Dr. Kusuma, A. and
1
Member of Executive Council and Faculty of Social Work,
Kakutur, Nellore
2
Dean, Faculty of Commerce Management, Vikrama Simhapuri University PG Centre,
ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT
Econom detrime disrupt introdu consequ impact intervent actions Such im way tha
view of this, the present paper focuses on the principles and applications of Social Impact in detail.
Copyright © 2018, Dr. Kusuma and Prof.Sivsankar. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the or
INTRODUCTION
A balanced development planning takes environmental, social and biodiversity impa development. Environmental Impact Assessm Impact Assessment (SIA) and biodiversity im are some of the methods that aid in the plan making process. These impact assessments he the likely positive and negative impacts of actions, likely trade-offs and synergies, an informed decision-making. Moreover, the assessment stems from the fact that:
Impact assessments enhance positive outcomes associated with project impl They support the integration
environmental aspects associated w subprojects into the decision making p The enhance positive social an
outcomes;
*Corresponding author: Dr. Kusuma, A.
Member of Executive Council and Faculty of Social Work, Simhapuri University College, Kakutur, Nellore
India
ISSN: 0975-833X
International
Vol.
Article History:
Received 21st November, 2017
Received in revised form 18th December, 2017
Accepted 15th January, 2018
Published online 28th February, 2018
Citation: Dr. Kusuma, A. and Prof.Sivasankar, P.R
Journal of Current Research, 10, (02), 65889-65895.
Key words:
Economic development, Social Impact, Social and Communal harmony, etc.
RESEARCH ARTICLE
APPLICATION OF SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN INDIA: A COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW
Dr. Kusuma, A. and
2Prof. Sivasankar, P. R.
Member of Executive Council and Faculty of Social Work, Vikrama Simhapuri University College,
Kakutur, Nellore – 524 320, (A.P.), India
Dean, Faculty of Commerce Management, Vikrama Simhapuri University PG Centre,
Kavali – 524 201, (A.P.), India
ABSTRACT
mic development projects brought innumerable ben ental effects on people and natural resources. Human uption of social and communal harmony, the loss of oduction of new diseases, and the destruction of renew quences can go against the positive benefits of economic de ts of developmental interventions on human environme entions take different forms. While significant benefits fl s, there is also a need to identify and evaluate the negative impacts not only need to be identified and measured but a that the positive externalities are maximized and the negat
view of this, the present paper focuses on the principles and applications of Social Impact in detail.
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
into account the pacts of economic ssment (EIA), Social mpact assessments nning and decision help in identifying f proposed policy and thus facilitate e need for impact
e and sustainable lementation.
of social and with the numerous
process.
nd environmental
Member of Executive Council and Faculty of Social Work, Vikrama Simhapuri University College, Kakutur, Nellore – 524 320, (A.P.),
They minimize social an result of either ind cumulative effects; They protect human hea
cultural property.
Development Projects and thei
Sustainable development is i fundamental objective for public It encompasses the econom dimensions of the develop acceptance of sustainable dev policy goal has stimulated inte particular interventions on s aggregate, sectoral or project l social management practice is project preparation and imple situated within the ambit programmes. The impact of th social and environmental.
Multi-dimensional impac
multidimensional nature of d for identification of not only potent also potential social and envir
International Journal of Current Research
Vol. 10, Issue, 02, pp.65889-65895, February, 2018
Kusuma, A. and Prof.Sivasankar, P.R. 2018. “Application of social impact assessment in India: A comprehensive overview
APPLICATION OF SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN INDIA: A COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW
Vikrama Simhapuri University College,
Dean, Faculty of Commerce Management, Vikrama Simhapuri University PG Centre,
nefits but also had unintended n activities have resulted in the f human livelihood and life, the wable resources. These and other development. Social impacts are the ent. The impacts of development low in from different development e externalities associated with them. also need to be managed in such a ative externalities are minimized. In view of this, the present paper focuses on the principles and applications of Social Impact Assessment
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
and environmental impacts as a ndividual subprojects or their
ealth and minimize impacts on
eir Impacts
t is increasingly accepted as a lic policy and decision-making. mic, environmental and social pment process. The growing velopment as an over-arching erest in assessing the impact of n sustainable development at levels. Good environmental and is a well-established element of ementation. Projects are usually it of specific policies and hese projects can be economic,
cts of projects: The
development interventions call potential economic impacts but ronmental impacts. The fallouts
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CURRENT RESEARCH
of greater urbanization, population growth and globalization can have adverse social impacts in the form of increasing poverty, dislocation of vulnerable sections of the society, loss of livelihood etc. Simultaneously, the environment could also be adversely affected viz. increase in air and noise pollution, water pollution, land degradation etc. Even though these impact assessment processes are applied in many countries, biodiversity considerations are often inadequately addressed.
What are Impact Assessments?
Social problems arise largely due to conflicts between economic development and natural resources. Economic losses and social costs from environmental degradation often occur long after the economic benefits of development have been realized. Most often, the development projects provide economic benefits and better living environment, but they also affect local people adversely. Social impact assessments help in understanding such impacts.
Impact Assessments in the context of social development are:
Processes through which the government departments/ agencies can better understand how the socio-cultural, institutional, historical and political contexts influence the social development outcomes of specific investment projects and sector policies
The means to enhance equity, strengthen social inclusion and cohesion, promote transparency and empower the poor and the vulnerable in the design and/or implementation of the project
The mechanisms to identify the opportunities, constraints, impacts and social risks associated with policy and project design
A framework for dialogue on development priorities among social groups, civil society, grassroots organizations, different levels of government and other stakeholders.
Approaches to identify and mitigate the potential social risks, including adverse social impacts, of investment projects.
It is in this context that Social Impact Assessments (SIAs) assume great relevance. SIA mainly involves the processes of analyzing, monitoring and managing the intended and unintended social consequences, both positive and negative, of planned interventions (policies, programs, plans, projects) and any social change processes invoked by those interventions. These assessments can enable the project implementing authorities to not only identify social and environmental impacts, but also to put in place suitable institutional, organizational and project-specific mechanisms to mitigate the adverse effects. They can also aid in bringing about greater social inclusion and participation in the design and implementation stages of the project.
What are social impacts?
The Inter-organisational Committee on Guidelines and Principles for Social Assessment (1994) (cited in Glasson 2000) defined social impacts as ‘the consequences to human populations of any public or private actions that alter the ways in which people live, work, play, relate to one another, organize to meet their needs, and generally cope as members
of society’. Social impacts are the ‘people impacts’ of
development actions. Social impact assessments focus on the human dimension of environments, and seek to identify the impacts on people who benefits and who loses. SIA can help to ensure that the needs and voices of diverse groups and people in a community are taken into account. Social impacts include changes in people’s way of life, their culture, community, political systems, environment, health and wellbeing, their personal and property rights and their fears and aspirations. Examples of projects with significant social impacts include: landfill and hazardous waste disposal sites (perceived health risks, loss of amenity); power and industrial plants (community stress from influx of work force, pressure on infrastructure); dams and reservoirs (lifestyle disruption resulting from relocation, land use alteration or long lead time to full impoundment); and roads and linear developments (dislocation of activity networks and relationships).
The main types of social impacts that occur as a result of these project- related changes can be grouped into five overlapping categories
Lifestyle impacts - on the way people behave and relate to family, friends and cohorts on a day-to-day basis
Cultural impacts – on shared customs, obligations, values, language, religious belief and other elements which make a social or ethnic group distinct
Community impacts - on infrastructure, services, voluntary organisations, activity networks and cohesion Quality of life impacts - on sense of place,
aesthetics and heritage, perception of belonging, security and livability, and aspirations for the future.
Health impacts – on mental, physical and social well being, although these aspects are also the subject of health impact assessment.
What is Social Impact Assessment?
Social Impact Assessment (SIA) can be defined in terms of efforts to assess or estimate, in advance, the social consequences that are likely to follow specific policy actions (including programs/ projects and the adoption of new policies), and specific government actions. It is a process that provides a framework for prioritizing, gathering, analyzing, and incorporating social information and participation into the design and delivery of developmental interventions. The SIA ensures that the development interventions:
Are informed and take into account the key relevant social issues; and
delivery of development operations (Rietbergen- McCracken and Narayan 1998).
Purpose of the Study
The broad objective of this paper is to study the application of social impact assessment that would enable policy makers to make balanced and informed policy decisions. The purpose of this paper is to serve as a guide to policy makers to:
Elucidate the importance of social impacts of economic developmental activities to the policy makers.
Enable greater sensitivity of the target audience to social impacts
Provide step-by-step procedures for undertaking social impact assessments in a participatory manner. Help project implementers evolve mechanisms
whereby adverse social impacts can be effectively mitigated.
Make available a set of tools that can be of use while undertaking social impact assessments.
The social impact assessment process
Social Assessment or Social Impact Assessment is process for ensuring that development activities are
Informed by and take into account the key relevant social issues and formulate mitigative measures, and Incorporate a strategy for participation of wide range of
stakeholders. Social assessment is an iterative process that has to be organized in a phased manner in several stages. Figure 3 provides an overview of the social assessment process featuring various phases of actions of the social assessment process.
SOCIAL ASSESSMENT PROCESS CYCLE
(Adapted from Rietberg-McCracken and Narayan 1998)
It follows that the process of an SIA (or SA) is similar to the EIA process. The different stages of SIA (or SA) are illustrated in the form of flow chart in figure 4. Although, the major stages involved/steps followed in conducting SIA (or SA) are logically sequential, they often overlap in practice.
STAGES IN SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
(Adapted from Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, 2003)
According to the Inter-organizational Committee on Guidelines and Principles for Social Impact Assessment (1994), the SIA involves undertaking various actions in the following major stages which are explained hereunder. Further, some of the guide principles are discussed.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Developing and implementing an effective public participation plan to involve all interested and affected stakeholders is the vital first step.
This involves identifying the client population that will either benefit or be adversely affected by the project. Groups affected by proposed actions include:
Those that live nearby;
Those that may be affected by the development intervention;
Those that may be displaced because of a project; and Those that have interest in a new project or policy
or rent, or pay higher taxes to cover the cost of expanded community services etc.
A wide range of public participation techniques should be used to collect information about public response to a proposed action. This first step is vital as the public participation program follows throughout the implementation and monitoring.
Identification of Alternatives
It involves describing the proposed action and reasonable alternatives to it, including the no action alternative. During this stage, the proposed action is described in detail so as to identify the data requirements needed for the proponent to do a preliminary assessment. For example, in a new road construction project, the assessor would need to know the project location, land requirements, need for ancillary facilities (transmission lines, sewer and water lines), construction schedule, size of the work force (construction and operation, by year or month), facility size/shape, need for local work force and institutional resources. This apart from the social issues such as poverty, age, ethnicity and gender would provide a broader context of the project and its stakeholder profile. The project alternatives, including no project option, shall be identified and their suitability can be examined on the basis of the information on the project, area and social issues and in consultation with the wider stakeholders.
Profile of Baseline Condition
Document the relevant human environment/area of influence of the project and the existing social conditions and trends. Baseline simply means a geographical and time line to start the assessment. For example, with construction projects, a geographical area is identified along with the distribution of special populations at risk; but for policies, plans, programs, or other special assessments (such as, technology, health), the relevant human environment may be a more dispersed collection of interested and affected parties, pressure groups, organizations, and institutions. This information should describe the socio-economic traditions of the client group to be affected by the project (gender, no. of single headed households, family size, occupation, income and asset levels, education, access to health services, social organization, cultural distinctions, etc.).
Social impact assessment can be performed some times to get an overview of the social issues associated with the project in terms of some of the parameters:
Demographic factors: number of people, location,
population density, age etc.
Socio-economic determinants: factors affecting
income and productivity, such as risk aversion of the poorest groups, land tenure, access to productive inputs and markets, family composition, kinship reciprocity, and access to labour opportunities and migration.
Social organization: organization and capacity at the
household and community levels affecting participation in local level institutions as well as access to services and information.
Socio-political context: implementing agencies’
development goals, priorities, commitment to project
objectives, control over resources, experience, and relationship with other stakeholder groups.
Needs and values: stakeholder attitudes and values
determining whether development interventions are needed and wanted, appropriate incentives for change and capacity of stakeholders to manage the process of change.
Scoping of the impacts
This essentially involves identification and prioritization of the range of likely social impacts through a variety of means, including discussions or interviews with members of all potentially affected. The principal methods to be used by experts are reviews of the existing social science literature, public scoping, public surveys and public participation techniques. Figure 5 gives an illustration of the process. The methods for social analysis and participation include (Rietbergen-McCracken and Narayan 1998):
Workshop based methods: Collaborative decision
making often takes place in the context of stakeholder workshops, which bring stakeholders together to assess issues and design development projects collaboratively. A trained facilitator guides stakeholders through a series of activities to promote learning and problem solving
Participatory Assessment Methods: Social assessments
can also be informed by field visits to communities and other local-level stakeholders to learn about their perspectives and priorities. The consultations make use of participatory assessment methodologies such as participatory rural appraisal (PRA), SARAR or Beneficiary Assessment. These methodologies provide tools for collaborating with local people in analysis and planning, and can contribute to the development of action plans and participation strategies.
Identification and analysis of estimated effects
This essentially involves analyzing and predicting probable impacts of the project proposal and the alternatives against baseline conditions (with versus without the action). This involves investigating the probable social impacts in terms of predicted conditions without the actions (baseline condition) and (ii) predicted conditions with the actions and the predicted impacts. Investigation of the probable impacts involves five major sources of information:
Detailed data from the sponsoring agency on the proposed action;
Record of previous experience with similar actions as represented in reference literature to include other SIAs;
Census and vital statistics; documents and secondary sources;
Field research, including informant interviews, hearings, group meetings and, if funds are available, Surveys of the general population.
Comparative method: This method examines how an affected community has responded to change in the past, or the impact on other communities that have undergone a similar action. The present is compared to the future with the proposed action. Based on past research and experiences in similar cases, determination of significance is made based on the comparative data presented.
Straight-line trend projection: This method takes
an existing trend and simply projecting the same rate of change into the future; we assume that what happened in the past is likely to happen in the future. For example, visitations for recreation increase each year at about the same rate they did in the past.
Population multiplier methods: In this method, each
specified increase in population implies designated multiples of other variables, such as jobs, housing units and other infrastructure needs.
Statistical significance means: It involves
calculations to determine probabilistic differences between with and without the proposed action. A social assessor could employ comparative statistical methods to determine statistical significance for appropriate SIA variables.
Scenarios: These refer to logical-imaginations based
on construction of hypothetical futures through a process of mentally modeling the assumptions about the SIA variables in question. Scenarios include exercises to develop the likely, alternative or preferred future of a community or society. Scenarios can be used to compare different outcomes (e.g., best versus worst case).
Consulting experts: Use of expert knowledge such as
researchers, professional consultants, local authorities, or knowledgeable citizens. Such persons familiar with the study area could be asked to present scenarios and assess the significant implications for the proposed action.
Calculation of ‘futures forgone’: a number of methods
have been formulated to determine what options would be given up irrevocably as a result of a plan or project, for instance, river recreation and agricultural land use after the building of a dam. The wetlands mitigation strategy is such an example.
The Indirect and cumulative impacts
These are estimated to identify the subsequent, flow-on effects of the proposal, including the second/third order impacts and their incremental impacts when added to other past, present and foreseeable current activities. Secondary or indirect impacts are those caused by the primary or direct impacts; they often occur much later, both in time and geographic distance, than primary impacts. Cumulative impacts are those resulting from the incremental impacts of an action added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions regardless of which agency or person undertakes them.
Evaluation of Alternatives and Impact Mitigation
This involves evaluating alternatives in terms of projection of their consequences for affected and interested stakeholders. Each alternative or modification to the proposed action should be assessed separately. The estimation
methods described in step five apply here but usually on a more modest scale. Subsequently, a mitigation plan needs to be developed and implemented, in order of preference to firstly avoid, secondly minimise and thirdly compensate for adverse impacts. If the predicted impact is minimal and can be managed, mitigation measures must be put in place. These could be in the form of modification of the specific event in the project, operation and redesign of the project or policy or compensation for the impact by providing substitute facilities, resources and opportunities.
Monitoring Plan
This involves developing and implementing a monitoring programme to identify deviations from the proposed action and any important unanticipated impacts. This should track project and program development and compare real impacts with projected ones. It should spell out (to the degree possible) the nature and extent of additional steps that should take place when unanticipated impacts or those larger than the projections occur.
Identifying Social Impact Assessment Variables
Social impact assessment variables point to measurable change in human population, communities, and social relationships resulting from a development project or policy change. After research on local community change, rural industrialization, reservoir and highway development, natural resource development, and social change in general, we suggest a list of social variables under the general headings of:
Population Characteristics mean present population
and expected change, ethnic and racial diversity, and influxes and outflows of temporary residents as well as the arrival of seasonal or leisure residents.
Community and Institutional Structures mean the
size, structure, and level of organization of local government including linkages to the larger political systems. They also include historical and present patterns of employment and industrial diversification, the size and level of activity of voluntary associations, religious organizations and interests groups, and finally, how these institutions relate to each other.
Political and Social Resources refer to the distribution
of power authority, the interested and affected publics, and the leadership capability and capacity within the community or region.
Individual and Family Changes refer to factors which
influence the daily life of the individuals and families, including attitudes, perceptions, family characteristics and friend-ship networks. These changes range from attitudes toward the policy to an alteration in family and friendship networks to perceptions of risk, health, and safety.
Community Resources include patterns of natural
Application of Social impact Assessment
The importance of social impact assessment and its application in specific projects can be understood clearly by some of the examples or application case studies that are provided below.
Social impact of the Sardar Sarovar scheme, India: Key findings and conclusions from SIA (Berger, 1994)
Sardar Sarovar became the focus of the debate, in India and internationally, on how to balance economic development on the one hand, and human rights and environmental protection on the other. The environmental and social impact of the project components is immense and extends over a wide area. At least 100,000 people, in 245 villages, live in the area affected by submergence. In Gujarat and Maharashtra almost all of those affected are tribal people. In addition, there are 140,000 families who will be disrupted by the construction of the canal and irrigation system. The issues in Sardar Sarovar were complicated because the majority of those displaced were tribal people who usually have no formal title to the land they occupy and were considered by two state governments of Gujarat and Maharashtra to be encroachers and not entitled to resettlement. The review found this position to be non-compliant with recognized norms of human rights. In addition, it concluded that a number of issues of related to the environmental impact of the scheme were unresolved and questioned the assumptions used in project design and mitigation.
Some of the factors and considerations that need to be taken into onsideration while undertaking social impact assessment include:
Taking account of initial response to project
announcement – support or opposition may be an
impact itself or an indicator of the likely degree of community cohesion or conflict over social issues
Qualifying data sufficiency and reliability – where
SIA is hampered by a lack of adequate data, err on the conservative side in reporting any potentially significant impacts (e.g. stating that it cannot be ruled out with confidence rather than concluding it is not proven)
Predicting key issues – it is better to be roughly
correct on the matters that count, rather than quantifying the impacts that can be counted
Team building – experienced social scientists need to
be an integral part of the EIA team to predict these key issues and establish linkages to biophysical impacts. Often, team building must address cultural style as well as disciplinary differences, for example when relating an SIA to the EIA and project planning timetable on the one hand and the norms and traditions of an affected community on the other.
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